July 12, 2009

All day yesterday, I kept hearing the phrase, likea series of spas…, and felt compelled to share my resort-like happenings:

Yoga spa: The day started with 2 hours of Isha Yoga. The postures, breathwork, and meditation set up calming energies for the day. I’ve maintained this yoga practice since April when I completed a 7-day Inner Engineering intensive; the results of which are so life-altering, that since then, I strive to keep it as a twice-daily routine so as to enjoy its benefits long term.

Nature spa: I ate a delicious lunch on a maple-shaded bench in Bellevue’s downtown park overlooking the waterfall. I sat for hours listening to birds chirp, dogs bark, and children at play. The sounds of animal and human nature comingling. Sitting still and not feeling rushed is always a treat unto itself so being able to do it amidst nature was a gift I must give myself more often.

Word spa: After lunch, as the wind whistled a bit too mightily through the thin pages, I hungrily read Salman Rushdie’s engaging book, The Enchantress of Florence. Only half-way through, I’ve already marked some memorable passages, such as: “About the dignity of the lost, about losing, and how it cleansed the soul to accept defeat, and about letting go, avoiding the trap of holding on too tightly to what you wanted, and about abandonment in general, and in particular fatherlessless, the lessness of fathers, the lessness of the fatherless, and the best defenses of those who are less against those who are more: invwardness, forethought, cunning, humility, and good peripheral vision. The many lessons of lessness. The lessening from which growing could begin.”

Body spa: Later, I headed over to Ummelina International Spa, where I relaxed into Restoration, a healing body ritual full of aromatic and lymphatic treatments to detox and revive the body. The gift of this treatment came from Nina herself (the owner) and I am oh-so-very-grateful. The 3-hour treatment was just what I needed. I could actually feel my body reacting in appreciation. For the first time. Ever. Over the last two decades, I’ve had many spa treatments and always thoroughly enjoyed them. This time, I could literally feel my body reacting and I ‘heard’ it say: this is good, this is what I really need, thank you. To have my body respond so clearly was a very good sign.

SoundSpa: My friend and sound healer, Gila Cadry, hosts monthly SoundSpas in her Mercer Island home and last night’s evensong was a wonderful exploration of mantras from many global traditions–Hebrew, ancient Egyptian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Christian. To me, it felt like her chants were intimate conversations she was having with beings from those traditions. I mentioned this to her afterward and she agreed.

For those that don’t know, for many years now, Gila has been singing, chanting, and meditating as a modality for healing, first to help herself feel better and then to help others. A decade ago, she was quite ill with a blood disorder and turned to music for comfort. This evolved from private to public using crystal bowls and her own voice. The next thing she knew, she was making CDs and meeting clients. Six years later, her blood work was normal. Her doctor told her that whatever she’s doing, keep doing it. I’m so glad she does.

Here’s to all the spas in your life! I look forward to having more of them in mine.